Automatic alarm system



Oct. 29, 1957 H. E. WILLlAMS ETAL 2,811,584

AUTOMATIC ALARM SYSTEM Filed Sept. 1, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

' flmer 5 MM MMS de BY FA mien 0 A. WILL/19015 THE/A 8712' ORA E Y.

Oct. 29, 1957 H. E. WlLLlAMS F -ITAL 2,811,534

AUTOMATIC ALARM SYSTEM Filed Sept. 1, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Mai Oct. 29,1957 H. E. WILLIAMS ETAL 2,811,584

AUTOMATIC ALARM SYSTEM Filed Sept. 1, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 29525Zap-ram IWDL United States Patent 9 AUTOMATIC ALARM SYSTEM Harry E.Williams and Raymond L. Williams, Pacific Palisades, Calif.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvernents inautomatic alarm systems and has for its principal object a constructionof this character that is simple and efficient yet economical inmanufacture. Another equally important object of this invention is theprovision of associating a conventional telephone hand set and anautomatic phonograph record player in a simple and efficient alarmsystem that involves a very low operating cost.

Still another equally important object of this invention is theprovision of an alarm system utilizing a conventional telephone whereinthe telephone receiver is never in an inoperative position for normaluse.

Another object of this invention is the provision of an alarm systemutilizing a telephone wherein the telephone is automatically placed inoperation and, after sounding an alarm, returned to its normalinoperative position. Other objects will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel combination and arrangementof partsto be hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention will best be understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings showing the preferred form of construction and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the cabinet embodying our invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the cabinet opened to show the mechanismof our invention therein;

A Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the top shelf and dialholder of our invention;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view similar to Fig. 3, but showingthe receiver button lever being depressed;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the center shelf, andtelephone holder and phonograph record player embodied in our invention;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the top shelf of the cabinetwith the telephone base thereon and the hang-up lever of our inventionin operative position;

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatical sketch of the battery circuit embodied in ourinvention;

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatical sketch of an electrical circuit embodied inour invention;

Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view of the dial lever housing .26; and

Fig. 10 is a cross sectional view of the operating mechanism housing 23.

For the successful operation of our automatic alarm system we employ theuse of a conventional telephone and automatic phonograph record player,which instruments per se do not constitute any part of our invention.The invention lies in the novel combination and arrangement of partswhich incorporate the use of such telephone and phonograph recordplayer.

In operation, using as an example a business establishment, the doorsand windows of the establishment are wired with an electrical circuit,sometimes called taping,

and which process is well known in alarm systems. This circuit isconnected to the operating mechanism of our invention, and upon thebreaking of such circuit, the phonograph and the telephone are placed inoperation. The central telephone operator is called directly and a shortthree-minute recording is played from the phonograph record player intothe mouthpiece of the telephone informing the telephone operator of aburglary or unlawful entry taking place. The operator immediately relaysthe call to the police.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, a sound proof cabinet isindicated as at 10. This cabinet is accessible through a door 11 hingedto the cabinet in any approved manner, such as by hinges 12. Within thecabinet 10 are a plurality of slidable shelves 13 and 13', upon which isadapted to be positioned the mechanisms embodied in our invention.

in operation, a conventional telephone hand set 14 is. placed within thecabinet 10. The telephone receiver 15 is removedfrom the telephone baseand placed with the mouthpiece 16 thereof on a small speaker 17 of anautomatic phonograph record player 18. This phonograph is supported onthe slidable shelf 13 which has been drawn out from within the cabinet10. On the turntable of the phonograph is carried a phonograph record 19and the tone arm 20 of the phonograph is placed on the initial recordingthereof, after which the shelf 13 is slidably replaced in the cabinet10, as viewed in Fig. 2.

The base portion 21 of the telephone set 14 is then placed on the topshelf 13 adjacent a control panel 22 and operating mechanism housing 23.The dial 24 of the telephone 14 is dialed to operator, and a dial lever25, carried by the control panel 22, is inserted in one of the fingeropenings to hold the dial in that selected position. This lever 25 iscarried by a housing 26 attached to the control panel 22, and whichhousing 26 has a downwardly and outwardly extending guide finger 27through which the lever 25 is adapted to slidably project. At the top ofthe lever 25 is a finger tab 28 extending upwardly through a slot 29formed in the housing 26 and by which the lever 25 may be slidablyprojected from within the housing 26. Also containedin this housing 26is an electromagnetic coil 30 having an armature 31'which is adapted toproject into a notch 32' formed in the bottom side of the lever 25 whensuch lever 25 is projected from Within the housing 26 and inserted intoa predetermined finger opening of the dial 24. Such insertion of thelever 25 into the dial 24 is against the action of a spring 33 havingone end connected to one end 34 of the lever 25 and having its oppositeend connected to the housing 26 as at 35. The operation of such lever 25and coil 30 will hereinafter be described.

A receiver lever 36 pivotally carried as at 35 by a partition 23 in thehousing 23 projects through a slot 36 formed theerin and is depressed,against the action of a spring37, down upon the telephone receiverbutton 38 of the telephone 14 and thereby holds the telephone 14 in anormal inoperative position. The end portion of the lever 36 within thehousing 23 is tapered downwardly and outwardly, so as to provide abearing shoulder 39 which, when the lever 36 is depressed, will engagethe armature 40 of an electromagnetic coil 41 secured to the housing 23adjacent the end portion of the lever 36. The lever 36 will be held inits depressed position, holding the telephone 14 in a normal inoperativeposition, until the coil 41 is energized. The method of energizing suchcoil will hereinafter be described.

Also pivotally carried by the housing 23 and operating in the slot 36 isa hang-up lever 42. This lever 42 has its inner end portion tapered inan opposite direction to that of the lever 36, that is, upwardly andoutwardly,

which also provides a bearing shoulder 39'. Secured to the partition 23'in the housing 23 above the end portion of the lever 42 is a secondelectromagnetic coil 43 having an armature 44. Connected to the lever 42as at 45 is a spring 46, which tends to pull the lever 42 in a depressedposition with respect to the receiver button 38 of the telephone 14.Resisting this spring 46 is the armature 44 which, when theelectromagnetic coil 43 is deenergized, engages the end portion of thelever 42 and secures it in a raised position, as shown in Fig. 10.

The function and purpose of these levers 36 and 42 as well as that ofthe electromagnetic coils 41 and 43, will be hereinafter described. I

A toggle switch 45' is carried by the control panel and which, when allthe doors and windows of the establishment are closed and locked, isturned on. If the taping circuit is complete by reason of the closedcondition of all doors and windows, the turning on of this switch willproduce nothing. However, it a door or window is open, when this switch45 is turned on, a light 47 on the control panel 22 will be energizedand indicate such fact.

On the bottom shelf of the cabinet 10, as viewed in Fig. 2, is a 6-voltstorage battery 48. This battery 48 is connected in circuit, as shown inFig. 7. with the electrical system of the establishment in such a mannerthat if such system is inoperative when the toggle switch 45 is turnedon, the battery circuit will be effective and ring a bell, warning ofsuch a condition.

Upon successful completion of the above conditioning tests, the alarmsystem is energized by pushing the electronic starting button 49 on thecontrol panel 22.

In Fig. 8 is a suggested circuit diagram which embodies all thenecessary indicia showing the parts and their connecting circuits. Insuch circuit diagram there is indicated a master release relay, which,upon the break ing of the taping, is energized. When this master relayis energized, it energizes the amplifier of the phonograph and a30-second timing motor which releases first the receiver lever 36, whichhas been depressed upon the telephone receiver button 38, then the motorrelay, and then the dial lever 25. Thus it can be seen that uponenergizing the master relay, the coil 41 is energized and the armature40 is pulled away from the bearing shoulder 39 and, under the action ofthe spring 37, the receiver lever 36 is lifted, placing the telephone 14in condition for dialing. The dial lever coil 30 is then energized andit releases the dial lever 25 to the action of the spring 33, and thedial lever 25 is then raised and the dial returns to normal'position,thus completing connec- 1 tion to the telephone operator. At the timethe motor relay is energized it starts the motor for the turntable ofthe phonograph 18. The motor in operating the turntable causes therecording 19 to be played into the mouthpiece 16 of the telephone 14,relaying the recorded message to the operator.

Upon movement of the tone arm over the recording a predetermineddistance, it energizes a cut-off switch which in turn energizes ahang-up circuit. Th s circuit breaks contact for the whole alarm systemand operates the coil 43, so as to release the hang-up lever 42 to bedepressed, under action of the spring 46, down upon the receiver button38 of the telephone 14, to place the telephone 14 in its normalinoperative position.

Should it be found that the alarm system has not been operated, uponreturn of the owner of the establishment to the premises where located,the circuit electronic switch 49 is turned olf, the receiver buttonlever 36 raised, the mouthpiece 16 removed from the speaker 17 andreplaced on the telephone cradle, and the telephone 14 may be placed ontop the cabinet 10 ready for normal use.

It is apparent from the foregoing description that our new and improvedalarm system provides a silent, quick, efficient means of reporting aburglary. The alarm system is fully automatic and operates at a costthat enables ali to have benefits of such an alarm system.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is:

1. An alarm system in which there is a telephone transmitter comprisinga conditioning mechanism for holding said transmitter in a predeterminednon-transmitting position, said conditioning mechanism including aslidable dial lever having operative connection to said telephonetransmitter to hold the same in a predetermined nontransmittingposition, a pivotal receiver button lever having one end thereofengaging a portion of said transmitter for holding the same in anon-transmitting position, means carried by said dial lever and saidbutton lever for moving the same out of operative engagement with saiddial and said receiver button of said transmitter, latch meansoperatively connected to said dial lever and said button lever forlatching the same in operative engagement with said dial and saidreceiver button, electromagnetic means for releasing said dial lever andsaid receiver button lever from latched operative connection with saidtransmitter to place the same in a transmitting condition, a soundreproducer operatively related to the receiver of said transmitter, anelectric circuit for said system, a timing motor in said circuit forsuccessively operat-. ing said electromagnetic means and said soundreproducer, and a circuit breaking means in said circuit fordeenergizing said sound reproducer and to return said telephonetransmitter to a non-transmitting position.

2. An alarm system in which there is a cradle-type dial telephone, meansfor maintaining an operative circuit to said telephone after thereceiver has been removed from the cradle, means for holding said dialin a predialed position, means carried by said first and second meansfor moving the same out of operative engagement with said telephone,latch means operatively connected to said first and second mentionedmeans for latching the same in operative engagement with said telephone,means for successively releasing said latching means of said first andsecond mentioned means for conditioning said telephone for transmitting,a sound reproducer operatively related to the telephone receiver, meansfor energizing said sound reproducer after said first and secondmentioned means have been released, an electric circuit for said firstand second mentioned means and said sound reproducer, and means forreestablishing an operative circuit to said tele phone after apredetermined period of energization of said sound reproducer.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,672,612 Luse May 10, 1927 2,090,574 Davidson Aug. 17, 1937 2,188,055Marsh et al. Jan. 23, 1940 2,371,051 Kendig Mar. 6, 1945 2,518,174Picking et al; Aug. 8, 1950

